G-Technology G DRIVE User manual

Professional external hard drive
Macworld ‘Best Consumer Storage 2010’
Welcome to G-

p.2
Table of Contents
Welcome to G-DRIVE
Table of Contents
Safety & General Use
Safety Precautions .................................4
Backup Your Data .................................5
About Your G-DRIVE
Introduction ..........................................7
What’s in the Box .................................8
System Requirements .............................9
Overview of the Drive ...........................9
Using Your Drive on Mac
Easy Installation for Mac ......................11
Optimize Performance .........................11
Use with Time Machine ........................12
Disconnect the Drive ............................14
Maintenance for Your Drive
Initialize Drive for Mac .......................16
Restore the Drive Icon ..........................19
Reformat with Partitions ........................21
Using Your Drive on Windows
Windows Use .....................................26
Cross Platform Use ..............................27
Support & Warranty
Technical Support ................................31
Limited Warranty.................................32
Copyright ...........................................34
Table

Table of Contents
Safety & General Use
• Safety Precautions ................ p.4
• Backup Your Data ................. p.5

p.4
Safety & General Use
Safety Precautions
The G-DRIVE drive’s warranty may be void as a result of the failure to respect the
precautions listed here. If you detect a problem with your drive, please contact our
Technical Support department.
If the product is returned with damage caused by improper handling, the warranty will
be void and liability will rest with the user. Please read our Limited Warranty.
• Servicing: Your drive contains no user-serviceable parts. If it appears to be malfunction-
ing, have it inspected by a qualied Technical Support representative.
• Moisture: Place the device away from moisture or liquids. To reduce the risk of damage,
do not expose this drive to rain or moisture. Do not use it in damp or wet conditions.
Never place objects containing liquids on the drive as they may spill into its openings.
• Ventilation: Place the device in a vented area. The drive should never be placed near
or over a radiator or heat source.
• Temperature: Do not expose this drive to temperatures outside the range of 5°C to 35°C
(41°F to 95°F); or to operational humidity beyond 5-80%, non-condensing, or non-operat-
ing humidity beyond 10-90%, non-condensing. Avoid placing your drive near a source of
heat, or exposing it to sunlight (even through a window), or in an environment that is too
cold or humid.
• Physical Damage: Do not place heavy objects on the drive. Never use excessive force
on your drive.
health

Safety & General Use
p.5
Safety & General Use
Backup Your Data
The disk drive contained in your G-DRIVE device is a delicate electronic instrument and
is susceptible to damage due to excessive physical shock. Under no circumstances will
G-Tech be held liable for the recovery or restoration of lost data. Any loss, corruption or
destruction of data while using a G-Tech drive is the sole responsibility of the user.
Make two backups
To help prevent the loss of your data, we highly recommend that you keep TWO copies
of your data in separate storage locations. Keep one copy on your G-Tech drive. Keep a
second copy on your internal hard drive, another G-Tech drive, or a form of removable
storage media.
backup

About Your G-DRIVE
• Introduction ........................ p.7
• What’s in the Box ................. p.8
• System Requirements ........... p.9
• Overview of the Drive ............ p.9

p.7
About Your G-DRIVE
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the G-DRIVE™ from G-Tech. G-DRIVE hard drives are the
ideal storage solutions for content creation professionals.
G-DRIVE high-speed interface external storage systems offer the ultimate in exibility
by providing a quad interface which includes connectivity for eSATA, FireWire™ 800,
FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. With a massive storage capacity, G-DRIVE is the perfect
high-performance solution for storage intensive applications including audio/video
editing, digital photography, MP3 libraries and high-speed data back up.
You will love how G-DRIVE looks and sounds. It features the latest Hitachi 7200 RPM
drive with an Oxford 934 chipset and up to 32MB of cache, encased in a rugged,
stylish and recyclable enclosure. The drive is whisper quiet with an integrated fan-less
cooling system that ensures reliable operation and long life.
G-DRIVE is ideal for automatically backing up your Mac using Time Machine™. You
can also use the drive on a Windows computer or work cross platform.
intro

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About Your G-DRIVE
What’s in the Box
The following items are included in the box:
• G-DRIVE hard drive (eSATA/FW800/FW400/USB 2.0)
• eSATA cable
• FireWire 800 cable (9 Pin to 9 Pin)
• FireWire 800 to 400 cable (9 Pin to 6 Pin)
• USB 2.0 cable
• AC Power Unit and cables
If any items are missing, please contact G-Tech at [e-mail]
or call [phone].
inbox

About Your G-DRIVE
p.9
About Your G-DRIVE
Overview of the Drive
This diagram shows the helpful features of your G-DRIVE. There is a Power &
Activity LED on the front of the unit and a Heat Sink beneath it. The activity LED
will glow when the unit is switched on. It will ash brighter as data is transferred
to or from the hard drive.
On the rear of the unit is a Kensington™ security slot, an eSATA port, 2 FireWire
800 ports, a USB 2.0 port, a DC Power In and an On/Off Switch.
overview
System Requirements
G-DRIVE supports the folllowing Operating Systems. The drive is set up at the
factory for use with Mac OS X systems, and formatted as ‘HFS+ with Journaling’.
• Mac OS 10.5 or higher
• Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
NOTE: G-DRIVE models larger than 2TB are not supported by Windows XP and
older 32-bit operating systems. These OS’s are limited to a maximum volume size
of 2.2TB.

Using Your Drive on Mac
• Easy Installation for Mac ...... p.11
• Optimize Performance ......... p.11
• Use with Time Machine ......... p.12
• Disconnect the Drive ........... p.14

p.11
Using Your Drive on Mac
Easy Installation for Mac
G-DRIVE attaches to your computer via
the USB 2.0, high speed eSATA, or one
of two FireWire 800 ports. FireWire 400
connectivity is handled by a 9 to 6 pin
cable (included). Choose the connection
appropriate for your system and connect
G-DRIVE with the matching supplied cable.
Connect the power cord to the unit and
plug the other end into a surge protector
or wall outlet. Turn on the power switch.
The drive will automatically mount on the
desktop if you are running Mac OS X.
Optimize Performance
G-DRIVE can be connected to any Mac or Windows machine equipped with
an eSATA, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 or USB 2.0 port.
For best performance, we recommend connecting your G-DRIVE via eSATA or
FireWire 800.
install

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Using Your Drive on Mac
Use with Time Machine
G-DRIVE works perfectly and easily with Time Machine™. Time Machine is an
application that ships with your Mac and provides automatic backup for your les.
The following steps will quickly set up G-DRIVE with Time Machine.
1. When you attach G-DRIVE for the rst time, the Time Machine dialog box
should automatically appear. Click the Use as Backup Disk button.
2. If the Time Machine dialog box did not launch, go to the Apple Menu> System
Preferences. Click on the Time Machine icon. The Time Machine Preference
panel will open. Click the Select Backup Disk button.
timemach

Using Your Drive on Mac
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Using Your Drive on Mac
3. In the dialog box that appears, select the G-DRIVE. Click the Use for
Backup button.
4. Make sure the Time Machine switch is set to ON. You can set its options by
clicking the Options button. Do this to choose volumes, folders or les you do
NOT want to backup.
G-DRIVE will now back up your important les automatically with Time Machine.
It’s that easy!

p.14
Using Your Drive on Mac
Disconnect the Drive
A great feature of G-DRIVE is its ability to be connected and disconnected while
your computer is running. To prevent failures and/or data loss, it is important to
follow the steps below when disconnecting or ‘unmounting’ the drive from your
computer.
1. Before powering down and disconnecting the G-DRIVE, unmount the drive
by simply dragging the G-DRIVE icon to the trash located in the dock.
Keyboard shortcut: Select the drive icon and hit Command+E.
2. It is safe to remove the drive from your system when the drive icon is no longer
present on your desktop.
Helpful links
• To use G-DRIVE on Windows, go to Windows Use.
• To use G-DRIVE on Mac and Windows together, go to Cross Platform Use.
disconnect

Using Your Drive on Mac
Maintenance for Your Drive
• Initialize Drive for Mac ......... p.16
• Restore the Drive Icon ........ p.19
• Reformat with Partitions ..... p.21

p.16
Maintenance for Your Drive
Initialize Drive for Mac
G-DRIVE was factory-formatted for use or ‘initialized’ for Mac OS X. You can
reinitialize if you would like to quickly erase the contents of the drive. Here are
the steps.
1. First, open the Disk Utility program. This application is located on your hard
drive under Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility. The window below will appear.
Your G-DRIVE will be displayed in the left-hand column.
2. Select the G-DRIVE by clicking its drive icon in the left-side column. Information
about the drive willl be displayed at the bottom of the window.
3. Select the Erase tab to view the formatting options. By default, the Format pop-
up menu is set to the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) option.
initialize

Maintenance for Your Drive
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Maintenance for Your Drive
4. Choose the Format option that you prefer.
• Mac OS Extended (Journaled): Use this format if you intend to use the drive
for Time Machine or to create a separate bootable installation of OS X.
• Mac OS Extended: Use this format for best performance and media storage.
To select, click the Format pop-up and its option to Mac OS Extended.
5. Click the Erase button in the lower right corner of the window. A dialog box will
appear asking if you want to erase the G-DRIVE partition.
format

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Maintenance for Your Drive
WARNING: THIS NEXT STEP WILL ERASE ALL DATA ON YOUR DRIVE.
6. Click on the Erase button to continue. A progress bar in the lower right corner
of the window will show the progress of the disk’s reformatting.
7. After the drive is reinitialized, you should automatically see the Time Machine
dialog box.
• Click the Use as Backup Disk button if you want to use the drive with
Time Machine. For more info using the drive with Time Machine, go here.
• Click the Don’t Use or Decide Later button if you do not want to use
Time Machine at this point.
8. Quit the Disk Utility program. After reinitializing the drive, the custom icon for
G-DRIVE has been erased. You can optionally restore this icon with the steps on
the next page.

Maintenance for Your Drive
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Maintenance for Your Drive
Restore the Drive Icon
If the G-DRIVE drive icon was erased during the reinitializing process (see the
previous section), you can restore the icon with the following easy steps.
NOTE: This process is not required for the operation of G-DRIVE. However,
it will make your drive’s appearance on the computer desktop look nicer and
more accurate.
1. To get the G-Tech icon package, go to www.g-technology.com/support and
navigate to your product. There will be a link to download the icons.
2. Once downloaded, it should automatically open the G-Tech Icons folder as
shown below. If not, double-click the Zip le to open. Then double-click the
DMG le to open the G-Tech Icons package.
3. Click to select the drive icon for G-DRIVE in the package window. Press
Command+C to copy the icon. (below)
restore

p.20
Maintenance for Your Drive
4. Select the G-DRIVE icon on your desktop and press Command+I. This opens
its Get Info window. (below left)
5. Select the default icon in the Get Info window. (below left)
6. Press Command+V to paste the custom G-DRIVE icon into the Get Info window.
(below right)
The icon for your G-DRIVE has been restored and you can close the Get Info
window. Your drive is now fully ready for use!